The present invention relates to gas turbine engine operation, and more particularly, but not exclusively relates to control of a gas turbine engine with a transient load.
For gas turbine engines primarily dedicated to the supply of mechanical power through a rotating shaft, there are some systems that impose a widely varying load on the engine. For example, electric power generators that are driven by a gas turbine engine often present an engine load that varies with electrical load on the generator. As loading rapidly changes for such systems, there is typically a desire to maintain engine speed within a specified range to correspondingly provide electric power from the generator that stays within an acceptable Alternating Current (AC) frequency band. In addition to electrical power generation, other systems driven by a rotating shaft of a gas turbine engine present transient loads that need to be regulated. Such systems include marine vehicles, amphibious vehicles, and pumps powered by one or more gas turbine engines—just to name a few.
For many of these applications, the need to reduce pollutants has resulted in the development of more sophisticated gas turbine engine combustion techniques. Typically, these techniques are sensitive to transient loading and/or part-load conditions, which lead to new challenges concerning engine operation and control—especially in the area of transient load management. Thus, there is a demand for further contributions in this area of technology.